A/N: Sorry for the wait. I was really busy, and then I had a bit of writer's block for a while, trying to write the battle with Sage Li and also the stuff that happens after that. I also had trouble trying to figure out a good place to end this chapter, so have a nice, long chapter! Though I'm pretty sure the next one will be kind of short.
Also, I was rereading an earlier chapter to check something, and noticed a typo. And I hate typos. Of course, I corrected it. But please, if you guys notice any typos I missed, please, please let me know so I can correct it because I hate leaving typos in my writing.
Oh, and about the chapter name. I usually have a lot of trouble trying to think of creative chapter names. I know the sunset was mentioned in the previous chapter, not this one, but don't always take the name literally, okay? A sunset symbolises the end of the day, and this chapter is just that, the end of the first day. Therefore, the first sunset.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
It was Silver. Here, in the Sprout Tower. Challenging Sage Li. Before me. Well, it's not like it's a competition. Sure, we got our first Pokemon at almost the same time, but I didn't really start my journey until today. He probably got to Violet City yesterday. He was probably on his way there when he passed through Cherrygrove City and battled me. He was in the middle of a battle with Sage Li, who had a Bellsprout in front of him. Silver was using some sort of round purple Pokemon surrounded by some sort of gas, which upon checking my Pokedex I found out was called Gastly, the gas Pokemon.
"Gastly, lick," I heard, but just barely. Silver's voice wasn't very loud, and I wasn't too close to them, standing just beside the pillar in the middle of the tower. Gastly licked the Bellsprout, and the Bellsprout fainted. Okay, I guess they weren't in the middle of the battle, they were at the end of it. They returned their Pokemon, and Sage Li bowed. Silver didn't bow back, I noticed. Instead, he seemed to just stare at him expectantly, as far as I could tell from where I stood beside the pillar, looking at him from the back. Looks like he's waiting something. Maybe there's a prize for winning? But why didn't he bow? Li did bow first, and it's only polite to bow back. After they returned their Pokemon, Li went to a nearby bag and pulled out something small, which I couldn't quite see.
"You are indeed skilled as a trainer." Sage Li told Silver. "As promised, here is your HM." Silver took the small object from him. "But let me say this: you should treat your Pokemon better." I hope he's not being mean to that cute little Cyndaquil I battled, or to that Gastly. His words after our battle echoed in my mind. "You're weak. Just look at you, worried about that useless, weak Pokemon. Pokemon are used to battle with, but you care about that one too much, and that will be your downfall." That's what he'd said. But maybe he was wrong. I remember watching him return his Cyndaquil without a word to it. No "that was a great battle," or "you did so well" or "I'm proud of you." Nothing like that to show that he cares about Cyndaquil. He just wants strong Pokemon, so he can use them for their strength. "The way you battle is far too harsh." Sage Li said, continuing to remind me of how Silver acted when I battled him. "Pokemon are not tools of war…" Silver seemed to not want to listen to him anymore, because without speaking to him, he turned around and walked away from Sage Li, in my direction, and he noticed me.
"Humph!" He seemed annoyed. Maybe at what Sage Li had just been telling him, maybe at my presence here (what has he got against me?), or maybe a bit of both. "He claims to be the elder but he's weak. It stands to reason. I'd never lose to fools who babble about being nice to Pokemon. I only care about strong Pokemon that can win. I really couldn't care less about weak Pokemon."
"But don't all Pokemon start off weak?" I reasoned. "I mean, your Cyndaquil was once just a baby, and so was my Chikorita. You wouldn't have called Cyndaquil strong if you'd met it back then, because it hadn't started being trained yet. It's like that saying, all people who made it big in life started off as nothing more than what we are now: kids. If they can do it, why not us? All Pokemon started out the same way, too. They all have the potential to be strong." In my peripheral vision I noticed Sage Li looking in our direction, maybe listening to our conversation.
"You must be some sort of joke, with your cliché, optimistic, 'everyone has potential' attitude. If you're here, I assume you're taking on the gym challenge now. That was a mistake. You're not going to make it very far with that optimism of yours. You'll learn sooner or later that some Pokemon are strong and some are just weak. If you refuse to see the truth and insist on using weak Pokemon, you won't do well, and you'll just give up." No. He must be wrong. That can't be how raising Pokemon actually works. He's just trying to get me to give up. What is his problem with me, anyway? What did I do to him? Why does he enjoy trying to put me down so much? But I refuse to listen to him. He's wrong. Of course, I won't give up.
"I won't give up. On myself, or on Chikorita, or any other Pokemon that might join my team. Unlike you, I'm willing to see the potential in anyone, because everyone deserves a fair chance to prove their worth."
"Weak Pokemon don't deserve to be trained." He sounded like he was going to say more, but in my determination to get through to him, I interrupted.
"Of course, they do. They can't stop being weak if they can't train. You need to give them a chance." He looked at me as if he was thinking of something to say back. I felt like I needed to add something. "How about you just give all Pokemon a chance? You never know. A Pokemon that you thought was weak might surprise you."
"Humph. You wish. Weak Pokemon don't just become strong. They're just useless. And they're just as annoying as those who insist on trying to train them, like you. Just stay out of my way. I don't have time for a wimp like you." I immediately learned that he'd meant to stay out of his way in more ways than one, as he shoved me towards the wall opposite the pillar, pushing me out of his way. The path wasn't that narrow, though. He could have gone around me. But I guess he just likes having more space around him? Or maybe that was a warning. Maybe he's the type to settle things with violence, and he was trying to tell me that if I try to talk to him again, things will get physical. I really should stay away from him. But I really want to help him see reason. Just like how I believe that all Pokemon have the potential to be strong, I believe all people have the potential to be good people who do the right thing. I have faith in my Pokemon, and somehow, I have faith in Silver that he will one day learn to have faith in his own Pokemon. Okay, enough with my sappy, optimistic thoughts. Time to challenge Sage Li. He's probably still staring at me. I looked over at Sage Li to see that he was, indeed, still looking in my direction. I walked over to him, pulling out Chikorita's Pokeball. I was ready for this.
"So good of you to come here!" He said. "Sprout Tower is a place of training. People and their Pokemon test their bonds to build a bright future together. I am the final test."
"Sage Li," I bowed. "I am Kris. I have defeated the rest of the sages of the Sprout Tower, and now I challenge you to a 1v1." He smiled and bowed back.
"Just a moment. My Pokemon need to rest after our previous battle. I wasn't expecting two challenges so close together. I'll have to give them potions."
"Would you like me to run them over to the Pokemon Centre? It's not that far away, and it'll save you using up your potions. Besides, their machines will probably be more effective than potions."
"Thank you, trainer Kris." He handed me his three Pokeballs. "At least allow me to repay you by giving you one of the potions I was going to use." He pulled out a potion canister, except the colour was different. This one was a combination of a red-pink colour at the bottom and a yellow-orange colour at the top. "This one is a super potion. It should heal your Pokemon a bit more than the regular kind would."
"Thank you." I said, putting the super potion in my bag, as well as Chikorita's Pokeball, but left Li's Pokeballs in my hands, so I wouldn't mix them up with the empty Pokeballs in my bag. I quickly took them to the Pokemon Centre, waited for them to be ready, and then ran back to the tower, excited to finally be battling Sage Li. He took his Pokeballs back and chose one. I sent out Chikorita and he sent out not a Bellsprout, but a small brown Pokemon with two stubby wings and a short, fan-shaped tail. It had large red eyes with beady pupils, but it didn't look all too scary or anything. Upon checking my Pokedex, I saw that it was a Hoothoot, the Owl Pokemon. The first thing I noticed was that, despite having wings, it wasn't up in the air like the Pidgeys I've battled before, or like Falkner's Murkrow was. Maybe it can't fly? Or it just prefers to stand on the ground? Whatever the reason, what matters is, it's easier to hit. I should try and get the first attack. Start strong, that's what I should do. "Body slam!" Chikorita ran and tried to body slam the Hoothoot, but it was fast enough to jump up. Despite not hitting it directly, Chikorita managed to grab its legs to pull it back down.
"Peck," I heard Sage Li say. Hoothoot pecked Chikorita on her head, just near the base of the large leaf, which I'm guessing might be a bit of a sensitive spot.
"Chi-ko-o!" She yelled, as she was hit with the flying-type attack. She'd let go of Hoothoot's feet and it now hovered, albeit a bit low. Maybe it can fly a little, or hover a bit, but its small wings aren't strong enough to completely fly like a Pidgey or a Murkrow. That was when I had an idea. Sure, Chikorita's ranged attacks like razor leaf or vine whip were grass-type attacks, which wouldn't do that much damage, but they could still be useful enough for my idea to work.
"Alright Chiko, try and aim your razor leaf for one of its wings. Just focus on the wing, okay?"
"Chiko!" She nodded, either understanding my plan or trusting me enough to do whatever I say without question. Either way, she began shooting leaves, most of them hitting Hoothoot's left wing.
"Okay, now get ready to tackle it once it's standing on the floor again." I told Chikorita. She continued her razor leaf, but nodded, hearing me. Hoothoot tried to avoid the leaves, but its left wing was getting hit too much, and so after a flapping frenzy of trying to stay airborne, it stopped moving its left wing and focused on landing safely on the floor. As soon as its feet touched the floor, Chikorita leaped forward and tackled it. "Nice job, Chiko." But I lost concentration and when I heard Sage Li's command of "take down," I wasn't ready to give a command. And it seemed like Chikorita wasn't ready for it either, because she had lost focus and was hit by Hoothoot's attack before she could react and dodge. But she's okay, she still in this. Though she does look like she's getting kinda tired. Oh, of course, that's what I should try. "Chiko, try synthesis." But then I saw Hoothoot coming close again, so I had a better idea. "Make a shield of vines to protect yourself while you use synthesis." Chikorita extended her vines and wrapped them around herself, leaving no clear way for Hoothoot to attack her. Chikorita shone with a white light which I could see through small gaps in her vine shield. "Chiko, get ready to use those vines to attack." After a moment, the light faded away, she unwrapped her vines and hit the startled Hoothoot. Then she took the initiative to wrap a vine around Hoothoot's legs, keeping it from getting away. "Now body slam!" She leaped forward and hit it with a body slam, and then unwrapped the vine around its legs, because it looked like it was down for the count. "Good job, Chiko."
"Thank you, Hoothoot." Sage Li said. He returned Hoothoot to its Pokeball and bowed to me. He grabbed his Pokegear, which was nearby, and allowed me to type in my account number so he could transfer 200P for my win. "You should have no trouble exploring caves, so I award you this TM." He handed me some sort of disc shaped device. What is this? And what does it have to do with exploring caves? Seeing my confusion, he explained. "This is a technical machine, or TM as it is usually called. It is used to allow Pokemon to used moves they wouldn't be able to learn on their own. This TM contains flash. Do you know what that move does?" I did appreciate that he asked, in case I already knew. But I didn't know, so I decided to have a guess instead. I thought of the saying, 'in a flash,' and had an idea.
"Does it… make a Pokemon really fast?"
"No. The Pokemon generates a bight flash of light that would light up a dark place, such as the cave over on Route 31." Oh. That makes a bit more sense. "TMs can only be used once though, so if you wanted to use it on more than Pokemon, you'd have to buy another one."
"Oh, okay. Well, thank you. That was a great battle, and I'll admit, quite a challenge." I looked down to where Chikorita was now curled up beside my ankles. Not sleeping, but just sitting there, taking it easy. "It wasn't easy, but we got through it. Right, Chiko?"
"Chiko," She said quietly.
"Don't worry, we'll go rest at the Pokemon Centre next. You can go back in your ball now." I returned her to her Pokeball, once again remembering how Silver had returned his Pokemon without a word to them. "I think I'll do a bit more training tomorrow, so I can be ready to challenge the gym – again. I lost earlier." I don't know why I said that. Earlier I had been so adamant about not telling the gym guide it was my first time challenging a gym, so now you'd think I wouldn't want to tell people I lost either. But I guess I feel like I can be honest with Li. Even after he lost to me, he respects me. He doesn't seem angry or jealous. Unlike me, when I lost to Falkner. I'd gone into that gym with so much confidence, too much confidence. So then when I lost, I almost couldn't believe it. I will admit it, I was jealous that Falkner seemed so much better at this than I was. But Sage Li, he was handling this the right way, so I feel like I should respect him and be honest with him.
"Good luck," he said. "I have faith that you can win with perseverance and confidence in yourself." I had to stop myself from laughing. If only he knew, I was thinking. Confidence isn't the key to winning. Confidence was what ruined that battle. As if he could see me doubting whether confidence would help me, he continued. "While overconfidence is a problem for some, I believe that in my battle with you, you weren't overconfident. You seem to have found the right balance of confidence." Have I really? Maybe he's right. Maybe I was overconfident in my battle with Falkner, but I don't think I was in my battle with Li. That's because I didn't overthink it or put on a confident act to seem more experienced than I really was. I just let it happen, and then I won. This is how I need to battle in my rematch tomorrow. No more acting, just go for it and let it happen.
"Thank you, Sage Li. You have no idea how much your words have actually helped me." I told him. I bowed. He bowed back. And with that, I headed to the stairs to leave Sprout Tower.
It had gotten dark while I was in the Sprout Tower. I went back to the Pokemon Centre and gave Chikorita to the purple-haired woman to heal. While I waited, I went to find the dining area, so I could figure out what to do for dinner. It wasn't until I left the Sprout Tower that I'd realised I actually was hungry. I hadn't eaten much today. I'd gotten distracted by the gym, and then Sprout Tower. Is that going to happen every day? I wondered. I need to make sure I buy some snacks, to make sure I always have something to eat if I get hungry. I looked around the dining area to see booths lining the walls, as well as a few smaller tables around the room. At one end of the room was the window to a small café. Near the window was a sign that explained that they served something different every day. Today there were pizzas. I looked at the pizzas to find that they, of course, had my favourite kind: plain cheese. Sure, some people find it weird that I don't like all those other toppings, but I just prefer a simple cheese pizza. I know I did tell mum I wouldn't be buying my meals every day, but it's fine to get a pizza for dinner tonight, right? I checked my most recent transfers on the banking app on the Pokegear and added together the transfers from the Sprout Tower. After defeating all of the sages of Sprout Tower, I'd made 1400P, which made up for the shopping I'd done earlier when I bought Pokemon food and potions. I've improved a lot today, and I want pizza. That, and I am now promising myself that tomorrow, I won't buy anything pre-made. I'll buy ingredients and make my meals. It's probably cheaper. After deciding that I will, in fact, have pizza for dinner, I went back to get Chikorita, so we could eat together.
After buying a cheese pizza for myself, which cost 100P, and putting a packet of the grass-type Pokemon food I'd bought into a bowl for Chikorita, we sat at a small table. Well, Chikorita sat on top of the table, but hey, it's a Pokemon Centre, they're allowed to. I even saw other Pokemon on top of a table, so I knew it was fine. Unlike breakfast, where she didn't finish her food (because Professor Elm had given me a bigger packet), she finished all of what she was given, and was even hungry enough to eat the crusts of my pizza (because I don't like the crusts). I figured that now that it's dark, I should stay in the Pokemon Centre.
After we finished eating, I asked the purple-haired employee about getting a room for the night. She told me that since it was just me and not a group, and since it was just for one night, I didn't have to worry about reserving or anything. Basically, if there's a room available, I can use it for tonight, no problem. She gave me my room key and showed me to one of their smaller rooms. The small room didn't have much in it, just a bunk bed (probably so they could also use the room for a group of two) and a bedside table. There was no joined bathroom, but just down the hall my room was in, there was a bathroom with a few toilet stalls, as well as a few shower stalls. I didn't mind that the room didn't have its own bathroom, since I wasn't going to in it that much, it was just for sleeping in. I'm guess most other trainers were the same way, which is why Pokemon Centres don't bother paying to put bathrooms attached to each room.
I stayed in the Pokemon Centre for the rest of the night, hanging out in the trainers' lounge. I let Chikorita stay out of her Pokeball, and I looked on as she wandered around the room, greeting other Pokemon who were out of their Pokeballs. I saw a trainer come over to find that their Pidgey was perched on Chikorita's head, just next to the fragile leaf.
"Pidgey, don't sit there, Chikorita might not like that." I heard a girl say. By now I'd gone over to see what was going on. Chikorita didn't look all too bothered, but still Pidgey fluttered up and off Chikorita's head. The trainer, who was a girl who looked about my age, noticed me and recognised me as Chikorita's trainer. "Sorry," she said.
"No harm done," I said. "Chikorita's fine, aren't you, Chiko?"
"Chiko!" She said.
"I see you tend to shorten its name," the girl said.
"Yeah, I guess I have been sometimes."
"That's fine, some people give nicknames to all their Pokemon. I like to name them after my favourite foods. I call my Pidgey 'Strawberry'." A strange way to think of names, but okay. At first, I never really noticed I'd been shortening Chikorita's name. I guess it's just easier to say? I wonder if I'll end up nicknaming any other Pokemon? Like Falkner suggested, I probably should catch another Pokemon before challenging him to a rematch, so I suppose I'll try catching a Pokemon tomorrow.
I didn't talk to Strawberry's trainer much more after that. She went back to her friends. As I looked around the room, I noticed that a lot of trainers seemed to be travelling with friends. Either that, or they all really good at talking to people they'd just met. But me? I was travelling alone. Why did I think this was a good idea? This would probably be so much easier if I were travelling with someone. Even if they were just as inexperienced as I am, it would still be helpful to make mistakes, talk about them, and learn together. But instead, here I am, travelling alone. I mean, not completely alone. I've got Chikorita, but still, it's not the same as another trainer who is going through the same journey I am. I could always try talking to the other trainers I meet at Pokemon Centres, but then I'd have to be less shy to be able to do that. I've never been very good at talking to people.
I felt like I didn't really have much to do in the trainers' lounge, since I didn't really feel like I could talk to people, so I went to my room. It was almost 8:30, a bit early to be going to sleep. And I wasn't even tired yet. I needed something to do.
It was then that I was surprised by a sound close to me. It took me a moment to realise that it was my Pokegear, still around my neck as usual. The phone app, the be precise. Someone was calling. I checked the caller ID. It was Joey.
"Yo, Kris! How're you doing? This is Joey, got a minute?" Came his voice through the Pokegear.
"Sure, what's up? I'm happy to chat." Even though I'm not very good at chatting but… well, hopefully he'll be talkative, and I can just listen and not talk much, like I usually do in conversations.
"How are your Pokémon doing? My Rattata's raring to go, just like always. It's the only one I have. I'm going to become a great trainer with it!" He talked enthusiastically and continued quickly without giving me much of a chance to talk, which I didn't mind. "Oh yeah, I saw a wild Caterpie! I thought about going for it, but I decided to work with my one-and-only right to the extreme end."
He talked a lot, which was fine. I quite enjoyed talking and listening to Joey. It was almost like he knew that I'd been feeling left out and wanted to talk to someone. His call couldn't have come at a better time. I answered as soon as I saw the caller ID, happy to hear from him. Sure, he may not have been the most challenging trainer I've battled, but that's just it. He understands what it's like to lose, to keep training and try your best. Talking to him reminded me that I'm not alone, and I can have a friend.
A/N: I know, most people tend to hate on Youngster Joey, but not me. He was Kris's first trainer battle (other than Silver, who hasn't been very pleasant to talk to), so I knew I'd be mentioning him again.
Once again, I really enjoyed writing Silver, as well as Kris's replies to him. I kind of paraphrased one of the Harry Potter movies at one point though. (I say "movies" because I haven't read all of the books, so I don't know if this quote is the same or if he only says it in the movie.) In Order of the Phoenix, he says, "All great witches and wizards started off as nothing more than what we are now: students. If they can do it, why not us?" But I of course took away the part about wizards and instead said, "all people who made it big in life started off as nothing more than what we are now: kids. If they can do it, why not us?" Still, everything else they said was all me, and I had a lot of fun creating their conversation. I can't wait for next time Silver shows up!
Shadowkat87, there is a Pokemon that only appears at night that you must be forgetting. You'll finally find out what it is in the next chapter, which I'll finish writing and upload soon.
So, who's excited for Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee? I know I am. That reminds me, Bill gives the player an Eevee, and since this is following the game events, that's definitely happening at some point in the story, as is every other Pokemon the game gives you. Have fun trying to think about what Kris ends up evolving it into. I'm pretty sure I already know what it will be, and I'm excited to write about that. But anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself as I always do. In future chapter: Kris catches a Pokemon, challenges Falkner to a rematch, and finally finishes up Violet City and goes somewhere new!
